Afghan army shake-up to push out old guard in fight against Taliban

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Ashraf Ghani plans to retire more than 2,000 army generals and other senior officers, aiming to bring new blood into the military’s top ranks to battle a resilient Taliban insurgency, officials said.

Many of the existing commanders are “too old to keep up with modern warfare”, a senior military official said, adding that the U.S. military had been pressing for a clear-out of the ranks.

The army structure is top-heavy with senior officers, reflecting a country that has been at war for nearly 40 years.

But the plan is causing resentment among the veteran officers, many of whom fought in U.S.-backed mujahideen against Soviet occupation in the 1980s, the civil war in the 1990s, or were part of the 1990s Northern Alliance opposition to Taliban rule.

“We have more generals and colonels than the U.S. army ... generals and senior officers going back generations who can’t fight, can’t lead and have occupied their posts for years,” said a senior government official involved in the reform effort.

“The shake-up is absolutely necessary because our allies, particularly the Americans, have clearly told that us they won’t be able to win with this current set-up,” said the official, who declined to be identified.

Dawlat Waziri, spokesman at the Ministry of Defence, said 164 generals and other senor officers were retired last week, adding that about 2,100 more generals and colonels would be retired in phases over the next 18 months.

Younger officers had been frustrated by a lack of promotion for years, Waziri said.

Retiring officers would get $250 for every year of service, plus a pension of several hundred dollars a month, the first official said. - Read More

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